Beginning Monday, Cedar Rapids police officers will be participating in a stepped-up law enforcement project that focuses on seat belt usage, said public safety spokesman Greg Buelow. The enforcement project runs through Memorial Day weekend and ends on June 4.

Iowa saw one traffic fatality over Memorial Day weekend in 2016, but there were 11 such fatalities over Memorial Day weekend in 2009 and nine deaths during Memorial Day weekend 2012.

Buelow said Iowa has a 94 percent seat belt usage rate. However, the remaining six percent account for approximately half the traffic fatalities, he said.

The traffic enforcement project is funded through the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau.